


Canis Major

by Nimry



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon - Manga, Gen, Manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 23:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20554130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nimry/pseuds/Nimry
Summary: Being summoned by the Head Captain would always make Renji Abarai slightly nervous, even if the current holder of the highest position in the Gotei 13 was a very different character than the late Genryusai Yamamoto.(Set a year after the end of the Quincy/Soul King War)





	Canis Major

**Author's Note:**

> I remember wondering after the end of the manga why Renji did not become a Captain even though his abilities were clearly on par with most and above some of them at the end of the war. I didn't think of it much until rereading the TYBW arc last year and asking myself why in chapter 486 Kubo chose to have Byakuya tell Renji about Sasakibe's backstory. Maybe that meant something, or maybe it did not. Either way, that's when the first draft of this story was born. I just never intended to post it anywhere since it has literally been ages since I have published any fanfiction (and never for Bleach).  
On another note, I do not know what the general preference is (I don't have one) but after some back and forth I put the characters' names in the Western rather than Japanese format. Also, there may be implied Renji/Rukia and Shunsui/Nanao (implied by Shunsui, that is..). It's definitely not a romantic story though so I did not want to tag it and disappoint anyone searching for such..

*****

Being summoned by the Head Captain would always make Renji Abarai slightly nervous, even if the current holder of the highest position in the Gotei 13 was a very different character than the late Genryusai Yamamoto.

“So, who wants some sake?”, Head Captain Shunsui Kyouraku asked cheerfully after a brief formal greeting. He produced a large bottle and drinking cups seemingly out of nowhere, gesturing for them to take a seat on the two zabutons across from his own.

Renji glanced over to First Division’s Vice Captain Nanao Ise but she kept standing in the corner of the room like she was there merely as an observer, making no move to join them.

“It is ten in the morning, Head Captain Kyouraku”, Byakuya Kuchiki remarked before moving to follow the invitation. Renji sat down beside him wondering if his Captain would have used the same kind of disapproving tone with Kyouraku’s predecessor.

Then again, Yamamoto would have offered tea.

Kyouraku started pouring the sake without waiting for an answer from them, “Oh? I don’t see how that is relevant...”

“Head Captain,” Nanao Ise interrupted. It reminded Renji of a teacher back at the Soul Reaper Academy. “Maybe we should get started. You do have a meeting with Fifth Division’s building committee after this, to go over the final plans for the new barracks…”

“Yes, yes...” the Head Captain said and sighed, “Young’uns nowadays have no patience.” He did not seem to be talking to anyone in particular, given that he probably saw everyone else in the room as a part of that group.

Nanao responded only by adjusting her glasses. Somehow she had the unique ability to make that gesture look like a threat.

Shunsui Kyouraku downed his sake with a smile while Byakuya Kuchiki disregarded its existence completely. Renji wondered whether the proper response was to follow his Captain’s or the Head Captain’s example. As the latter was looking at him expectantly, he decided to try his best imitation of the polite sip he had seen Byakuya do on other occasions. He slurped up half the cup’s contents before putting it back down.

Kyouraku appeared to be satisfied with that.

“Vice-Captain Abarai.”

Renji inadvertently sat up straighter at the sudden change in tone in the Head Captain’s voice which seamlessly went from jovial a moment ago to sounding serious and official. “Yes, Sir!”

“Knowing Captain Kuchiki’s aversion to detailed explanations, am I correctly assuming that you do not have any idea why you have been summoned here today?”

Uhm, no..”, Renji started, then corrected himself, “I do not, Head Captain.”

_“We are expected to meet with the Head Captain tomorrow morning at ten. Do not be late.” _That was about the extent of information he had received. In Renji’s experience his Captain would tell him what he needed to know and asking unnecessary questions in return only exasperated him. Just like everyone else Sixth Division had taken heavy losses in both material and personnel during the Quincies’ invasion – or the “Great Protection of the Soul King War” as the events had been officially dubbed since. He had simply assumed they were here to discuss some aspect of the rebuilding process. However, it now dawned on Renji that this was instead somehow about him.

_I don’t think I broke anything recently that wasn’t already broken. Did I?_

Kyouraku sighed.

“Abarai-san”, he started. Nanao handed him one of the folders he had been holding, which he started flipping through. Renji had not paid any attention to it until now. Nanao Ise seemed to always be carrying around paperwork of some type.

“When you joined the Gotei 13 after graduating from the Soul Reaper Academy you were assigned to Fifth Division together with your classmates Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori.” He lingered on a particular page and Renji wondered if he was actually reading something or if that was just for show. ”Apparently Sousuke Aizen met the three of you during an unfortunate training incident at the Academy. An incident that he likely instigated himself.”

At the mention of the former Fifth Division Captain who was at this moment confined on the lowest level of the underground prison directly below them, everyone in the room seemed to become somewhat uncomfortable. Renji was not sure if he was expected to say anything. “That’s correct...”, he began but trailed off, hoping he wouldn’t be asked to recount any more details.

The Head Captain appeared to be interested in a different matter instead. “You ended up transferring to Captain Zaraki’s Division though. Why is that?”, Kyouraku looked at him curiously this time, “Eleventh is quite a different environment than Fifth Division. Or _any_ other Division, really.”

Renji hesitated. “Uhm… for that reason, I guess. It seemed like the best place to be if I wanted to get stronger fast. And..” He scratched his head a little embarrassed, “Well, I was never good at Kido. Which does not matter to anyone in Eleventh Division.”

“Yes, I suppose that made perfect sense..”, Kyouraku mused, turning another page.

“However…”

The Head Captain looked up.

“According to Cap… according to _Aizen_ he had me transferred to get rid of me. Because he thought I was trouble… or something like that.”

“Oh, is that so?”, Kyouraku seemed to think about that for a moment and Renji wondered if he should have just not mentioned that part.

“Well, in the world according to Sousuke Aizen your choice of breakfast today was a part of his grand scheme, and whether you brushed your teeth before or after was probably, too.”

“And what makes you certain that it was not, Head Captain Kyouraku?” came Byakuya’s retort, delivered with his trademark lack of emotion. It did not seem to faze Kyouraku who simply replied back, “I don’t believe I said such a thing, Captain Kuchiki. I would never presume to be certain about anything regarding that man.”

The two stared at each other and Renji was reminded of everyone’s discontent at Shunsui Kyouraku’s decision to temporarily release the traitor Sousuke Aizen during the Great War.

“I did not have breakfast”, Renji offered as an attempt to dissolve the tension.

Both men turned to look at him. Maybe that was not the smartest thing to say…

“Well, I hope you still brushed your teeth.”

“Yes…”

“Very good”, Kyouraku returned his attention to his reading materials and cleared his throat.

“You had firmly established yourself as sixth seat in Zaraki’s Division which - if we are being honest - is probably more equivalent to a third seat anywhere else. And that got you on the short list and eventually chosen as Vice-Captain when a position opened in Sixth Division.”

He stopped and scratched his chin. Renji was wondering whether he was expected to say anything. If so, he did not know what. Or what the whole point of this was.

Kyouraku pulled out another folder from below the one that he had been going through so far. He opened it briefly but then seemed to decide he did not need it and closed it again.

“As you may or may not know with the help of Ninth Division Vice-Captain Hisagi we have been piecing together all the information and reports from the war into somewhat of a concise record of everything that happened during that time.” He looked at Renji. “Your name comes up quite a few times.”

Renji startled a little. “Oh... uhm, I got kicked halfway through the Seireitei and only recovered thanks to that Hot Spring guy...”

“My my,” the Head Captain waved this off nonchalantly, “focusing on negative things is not a good habit, you should always pay more attention to the positive.”

“Oh… ok.”

“Either way, none of us here can claim to have distinguished ourselves very favorably during that attack,” he added more seriously. Renji noticed an almost imperceptible shift in his captain’s spiritual pressure that may or may not have been embarrassment. Byakuya Kuchiki was probably the last person to want to be reminded of that experience.

Renji’s gaze went to the eyepatch that hid Shunsui Kyouraku’s right eye… or whatever was left of it. He wondered why he had not asked Orihime Inoue to heal it for him. She had helped tirelessly in treating the wounded after the fighting was over, and not left for the Human World before there was no one left that she could could have still done anything for. How that girl’s powers worked was beyond him but he did not doubt that healing a person’s eye was within her abilities.

“Obviously I am referring to the events after that,” Kyouraku continued, pulling Renji out of his thoughts.

“You were taken to the Soul Palace to be healed by Tenjiro Kirinji and subsequently trained with the members of Squad Zero which is not something that many Soul Reapers have the honor to ever experience.” He flipped through the folder seemingly at random.

“Now I have it here reported by yourself that you were able to complete your Bankai with Ichibe Hyosube’s help, because apparently the one you acquired not long after becoming a Vice-Captain was an incomplete version?”

“Yes Sir, that is correct,” Renji confirmed.

“I might add that achieving Bankai is certainly a major feat for any Soul Reaper and at the time you did – incomplete or not - I believe it made you the only Vice-Captain besides the late Chojiro Sasakibe that had managed that, “ Kyouraku continued, then leaned his head to the side, “Not counting Madarame-san who seems to still be under the impression that no one knows about his Bankai.”

Byakuya cleared his throat in response and Renji thought he saw Nanao roll her eyes in the corner. He was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, not because of the Head Captain nonchalantly talking about Ikkaku’s apparently not so secret secret, but due to the conversation having turned into a reiteration of his own supposed achievements.

It wasn’t so much that he still thought of himself as weak – at least most of the time. He was however not used to listening to someone praising him. Most of his time in the Gotei 13 had been spent as a member of the Eleventh Division. Complimenting each other’s skills was not really part of the usual communication between its members, and definitely not a part of its Captain’s vocabulary. It was self-evident that you were better than the rest if you weren’t unconscious on the ground or in need of immediate medical attention at the end of a typical Eleventh Division training session.

And his current captain was not known for warm words of praise towards his officers either.

“Here’s my favorite part,” the Head Captain continued, “According to Vice-Captain Hisagi who at least partially witnessed this event from nearby, you single-handedly defeated the Quincy that almost killed both the Captains of the Third and Ninth Division. Captain Otoribashi’s and Captain Muguruma’s reports matched in that regard, and I’d trust Hisagi-san to truthfully report anything he saw either way.”

“Can you confirm that this report is correct, Vice-Captain Abarai?”

“Oh… yes, Head Captain.”, he replied.

Why was that important though? Was Shunsui Kyouraku going to start handing out medals for special war achievements? He did not recall such a thing ever being a habit of the Gotei 13. As far as he knew the only way an officer’s achievements were ever rewarded were promotions within the ranks.

_Oh.._

That could not possibly be why he was here… He quickly glanced to the side at his Captain who remained frustratingly silent.

It seemed like the Head Captain noticed his reaction though and he closed and put the folder away again instead of continuing with this narrative.

“So here is the thing. We’ve all been so busy between the rebuilding efforts and reestablishing order in the Gotei 13 that before I knew it, here we are, already approaching the one year mark of the end of the war. Both my Vice-Captains have been nagging…” – a coughing noise could be heard from Vice-Captain Ise’s direction – “... they have been _encouraging_ me to get serious about looking into possible candidates for the Captain’s seats that have regrettably been left open in the aftermath.”

_No way…_

The Head Captain nodded over to Byakuya Kuchiki. “So even if Captain Kuchiki had not approached me concerning this matter now, I think we would have had this conversation sooner or later.”

Renji looked at Byakuya. “Captain…?”

“I recommended that the Head Captain consider you for a Captain’s position,” he replied in a matter-of-fact voice, like someone might have stated something obvious like ‘two and two is four’ or ‘the sky is blue’.

“Right,” Kyouraku continued with a cheerful attitude, “But do not feel rushed or anything, Abarai-san. As I said, I have not really looked at any other candidates yet. We have plenty of time to discuss which Division may be the best fit for you and don’t need to make a decision at this very moment.”

Renji looked back and forth between the two men.

_Captain Kuchiki initiated this whole thing._

The Head Captain did not wait for any reaction from him. “Let’s see,” he said, pushing up his hat a little, “there is Seventh Division. Vice-Captain Iba is doing quite a bit better than I anticipated at handling operations for now but I am not convinced yet that he would be able to take over the Captain’s seat… Then there is Eighth Division, of course. Nanao here is basically running it on the side for now and doing a splendid job at it. But I would prefer her to be able to focus her attention on me...”

“Head Captain!” 

“What is it, Nanao-chan?” he asked amiably in response to her sudden exclamation.

“You meant to say that you would prefer that I focus my attention on the First Division.”

“Oh, is that it…?” the Head Captain said innocently then quickly adding, “Ok, ok… that’s it” in more conciliating tone after looking at her.

Renji was barely registering their antics. He was still busy trying to wrap his mind around how his Captain had gone and recommended him for a Captain’s seat.

“Oh, and then I suppose there is also Thirteenth Division. Although I do think that Rukia-chan has great potential and Ukitake has always held her in very high regards. So I think I might prefer to keep an eye on her and see how she manages things for now…”

Renji had a sudden vision of Rukia kneeling before him and calling him ‘Captain Abarai’. It was… interesting. And horrifying. And wrong. Definitely wrong. He pushed that picture to the back of his mind quickly, never to be thought of again. Probably.

“But you might find that too awkward anyway… unless you are into that sort of thing?” Kyouraku seemed to consider him for a moment and nodded knowingly to himself, ”in that case we can talk about that option, too. You could always trust me with any questions if you are not sure what kind of jobs are and which are not appropriate to ask of your Vice-Captain. After all Nanao-chan and I are managing quite well... Oww!”

“Who’s managing what?” A fuming Vice-Captain Ise yelled, holding the folder that she just struck his head with. She had even knocked his hat right off.

“What’s the big deal, Nanaooo-chaaan…”, he whined, sounding more like a child than the Head Captain of the Gotei 13 now.

“Stop saying weird things! You are giving people the wrong impression!”

Renji thought that he had been a Vice-Captain long enough by now to know what was appropriate or not appropriate to ask of one… but maybe it was better not to think about what had prompted the little slapstick display in front of him… or the violent intent arising in Byakuya’s spiritual pressure. That was not the real issue here.

“Wait a minute!” he exclaimed, a little louder than intended.

Shunsui Kyouraku and Nanao Ise stopped their quarreling to look at him like they just remembered that Renji and Byakuya were there.

“What about the Sixth Division Vice-Captain position?”

“Oh?”, Kyouraku asked while straightening his hat, “Captain Kuchiki will just have to find someone else. I am sure we can find more candidates for that sort of position than for a Captain’s seat.”

“But…”

“Renji…”, Byakuya interrupted with the voice of someone preparing to scold a willful child. “You are being offered a Captain’s seat in the Gotei 13, the highest honor for any Soul Reaper. Is there something about this that you do not understand?”

“I understand that,” Renji shot back, then quickly bowed his head in apology. He hadn’t meant to sound angry.

“My my…”, Kyouraku said in an appeasing way, “Well, technically I am not offering that Captain’s seat right this moment. We do need to follow the proper procedure and conduct an official interview, collect the necessary recommendations, and so on… but I would consider that no more than a formality in this case. It does give you some time to consider your options though…”

A Gotei 13 Captain. It was true that it was a true honor for every Soul Reaper to be considered for that kind of position. However, Renji could not remember ever having asked himself seriously whether that was something he was aiming for. For most of his time as a Soul Reaper he had trained tirelessly every day with only one goal in mind, to become as strong and powerful as the man sitting next to him now – and to one day be able to surpass him. Ultimately though the reason he wanted or thought that he _needed_ to do that was to get Rukia back. And if he was being honest, that was probably never the right way to achieve that in the first place. It was just a goal that he could aim for and that – however unattainable it might have seemed – did not have a complicated path leading towards it. It was something where he could understand what he needed to do (_Train! Fight! Don’t give up!_) when every time he would try to think of any other way to get to Rukia he would come up with nothing. And anytime he would lose hope, ironically, it was the thought of Byakuya Kuchiki that had kept him going.

If he became a Captain now he would have finally succeeded in becoming his equal. Or at least equal as far as the Gotei 13 were concerned. Renji had learned enough about Soul Society’s nobility through both Byakuya and Rukia to understand that most of them would never consider someone who grew up in one of the poorest districts of the Rukongai as equal to the head of one of the great noble families, even if he became the Head Captain himself. 

But now the thought of being on equal terms with Byakuya Kuchiki did not cause him to feel any particular emotion. Was surpassing him really still important? Did he need to or even want to?

Over the past few years Renji had trained just as hard and just as diligently as he always had but slowly but surely the goal of surpassing Byakuya Kuchiki had been replaced by thoughts of wanting to become strong enough to be able to hold his own against an enemy like Aizen. Or Yhwach’s Sternritter army. And eventually so that he would not be useless again if his Captain was facing someone like the Quincy that had stolen his Bankai and nearly killed him while Renji had been powerless to help and save him. Just like that Byakuya Kuchiki had turned from someone he had wanted to be able to beat and surpass into someone he wanted to be able to assist and protect. If he still aimed to reach him in terms of strength and ability it was out of respect and admiration for him rather than resentment.

Besides, he was Rukia’s brother and important to her. That would already be reason enough on its own for him to want to make sure that no harm came to him. And Rukia… would it make any difference to her whether he became a Captain or not?

“No…”, Renji said, barely audible.

The Head Captain raised an eyebrow at him.

Suddenly Renji had to think of Ikkaku. After the events surrounding Aizen’s rebellion Renji had run straight to the third seat of Eleventh Division and begged him to step up as a replacement for one of the traitorous Captains. However, Ikkaku Madarame had shot him down without so much as considering it. ‘To live and die fighting under Captain Zaraki’ was what he aspired to do with his life.

Then there was Chojiro Sasakibe, the former Vice-Captain of First Division who became the first victim of the Quincies. That man might have been one of the strongest Soul Reapers in the Gotei 13 and no one would ever really know. He had vehemently refused any Captain’s seat that was offered to him during his centuries of service under Head Captain Genryusai Yamamoto. Renji had never paid him much thought either, just like most of the other Soul Reapers. Captain Kuchiki though had spoken of him with nothing but respect and appeared to have regarded him quite highly for his fierce and unwavering loyalty, almost as highly as the person that was able to inspire those feelings.

Renji couldn’t exactly agree with Ikkaku’s singular goal of fighting under his Captain until he died, and he would teach anyone a lesson that would dare to pass him off as weak like they had Sasakibe. But…

He turned to Byakuya abruptly. “Captain…”, he said and bowed deeply before him. “I am honored that you went through all the trouble to talk to the Head Captain on my behalf, and that you would find me worthy of a Captain’s position. Thank you.”

He halted for a moment, trying to think of what he wanted to say next. Neither Captain Kuchiki nor Head Captain Kyouraku moved to say anything themselves.

“But I would be even more honored if you would permit me to remain as your Vice-Captain. If… if you would have me.”

Renji kept his head down. The room was quiet. He began to feel like he said something stupid and wondered if he should try again to explain himself better. But the more he said the worse and more awkward he would probably make this. So he waited.

Finally Byakuya shifted slightly in his seat and said, “I see… If that is your wish.”

“Yes, Sir”, Renji said more firmly, relief washing over him.

There was another long moment of silence until Byakuya cleared his throat. “I suppose that means we are done here. I apologize for wasting your time, Head Captain.”

Renji looked up slowly. Shunsui Kyouraku had a look of astonishment on his face but then said quickly, “Oh no, not at all.”

They both got up and Renji scrambled to his feet, too. After this whole situation seemed to be dragging on earlier the end was rather sudden and he wondered if he was going to be in some type of trouble now. 

“Let’s go, Renji.”, Byakuya said after bowing briefly to Kyouraku and Vice-Captain Ise. He then turned around and walked off without another word. Renji said his goodbyes and a hasty apology himself and hurried after his Captain.

*

Shunsui and Nanao were left staring after the two, a little perplexed.

“Well, that was interesting”, the Head Captain commented after a while, moving his hand to his hand to pull down his hat, and sighing when he remembered it was still on the floor from Nanao’s ‘attack’.

“Did Captain Kuchiki look embarrassed or… I am not sure, maybe almost _pleased_ to you?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Nanao-chan… But who would have thought those two would end up getting along so well?”

*

Renji followed Byakuya in silence all the way back to the Sixth Division offices.

They stopped in front of the Captain’s office. “Renji…,” he started with his back to him and Renji braced himself. He was sure he could expect a scolding, just not if it was going to be for being so stupid to refuse the offer of leading a Gotei 13 Division, or for wasting the Head Captain’s time and embarrassing them both as a result.

_Although that’s really his own fault, too, for not discussing it with me first…_

There was a tense silence before Byakuya finally spoke.

“Rikichi has been managing the construction of the new training grounds by himself all morning.”

Renji looked at his Captain’s back in surprise for a moment. Was he really letting this go just like that?

“Yes, Sir. I will head over there right now and make sure everything is in order.”

Byakuya Kuchiki opened the door to his office, then halted for a moment.

“Thank you, Renji.”


End file.
